Zayne Parekh was humbled by his Calgary Flames training camp experience, which came to an end this week. But he showed enough during his time with the NHL club to get people excited about what he’ll bring in the future.
Fellow teenage prospect Hunter Bzustewicz is still hanging around, showing a maturity beyond his years that has him pushing for a spot in the pro ranks rather than another opportunity to top the Ontario Hockey League in scoring.
(Notably, it was Parekh who finished second in that category last year).
Still in their teens, the two defenders are future anchors for a rebuilding Calgary Flames club that is rumoured to be signing veteran Tyson Barrie and has a current top three of 30-year-old MacKenzie Weegar and 27-year-olds Rasmus Andersson and Daniil Miromanov.
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There are plenty of more stay-at-home types in their mid 20s, with Kevin Bahl practising for the first time on Friday, Brayden Pachal becoming a bit of a fan favourite last year, and Calgarian Jake Bean joining is hometown team as a free agent. That top-end talent, though, is what the Flames hope they have in both Brzustewicz — a big pickup from the Vancouver Canucks in the Elias Lindholm trade — and Parekh, their first-round pick in this year’s draft at ninth overall.
A slightly older prospect who hasn’t quite turned the corner despite a perceived higher ceiling is Jeremie Poirier, who has struggled with injury issues but at times flashed slick playmaking skills. Etienne Morin (19) also made his way back to junior this week to hone his skills and hope to make the professional jump next season.
With Parekh and Bzustewicz, though, it looks like the sky is the limit for when Andersson and Weegar have either moved on or no longer perform at their best.
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